As with last time, there's not much you can say about the Glasgow Film Theatre re: Autism accessibility because as far as venues go it has to be one of the most all round disability friendly and inclusive places in the city, if not the country. And seven years on from the initial Glasgow city council Autism Initiative it's actually gotten even better.  And yes I'm biased. And not just because I've had my work on the big screen there. The cinema does it all -  Access Film Club  (Autism, Neurodivergent and Learning Disabled-friendly screenings), closed caption, Take Two family events,  Visible Cinema  (Deaf and hard of hearing-friendly screenings),  Movie Memories  (Dementia- friendly screenings) and it also has genuinely brilliant and knowledgeable staff (amongst other things) which all adds up to make the GFT a perfect example of how a venue can tackle the issues of inclusion and get it right. And the fact that it's a small cinema with charity status and a majo...

Next up in the ongoing Seven Up reviews  is Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art . Located in the centre of Glasgow, just off Buchanan Street and is probably most famous for having a statue of The Duke of Wellington outside it with a traffic cone on his head. Glaswegians eh?   As mentioned in the original piece , GoMA was quite a tricky one to review, being as it is quite small (relatively speaking) and walking around it is used to be a wee bit like wandering around a brightly lit rabbit warren as designed by Stanley Kubrick.     But it the intervening years the lighting in the gallery seems to have been softened and the use of space seems to have been altered so the whole place is now seemingly much bigger and much more warm and welcoming. Plus - as like last time -  the staff are always incredibly friendly and helpful with plenty of time to chat about the venues Autism provision which includes a variety of workshops and the availability of sensory backpack...

A triple bill of Autistic outings today as we revisit St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and art and also to an Autie-eye view of the Provand's Lordship and Glasgow Cathedral to see how the venues are fairing seven years on from Glasgow's Autism initiative . A quick note that these reviews will be fairly brief as (spoiler warning!) Glasgow Museums have actually been really consistent when it comes to Autism friendly venues since the original Autism initiative began all those years back in 2018 . So, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin, with the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. As mentioned previously, named after Glasgow's patron saint and based in Glasgow's Cathedral Precinct, the museum is built on the site of the medieval Bishops’ Castle with galleries of objects and art exploring the importance of religion in peoples’ lives across the world and throughout history. Like Cassidy and his love for The Riverside Museum , St Mungo's is a favo...

The Entertainer was one of the stores reviewed in the original Autism Friendly Glasgow posts way back in the dark and distant days of this blog and to be honest it's a shop we've visited ever since but whereas last time we looked at the Buchanan Galleries store (still a favourite with Cass) this time we're talking about the one in the St. Enoch Centre. So you'd better pay attention as there may be questions later. You see, much like HMV , The Entertainer has become one of our regular, daily haunts since the girls started college so we've gone from weekend visits to 3 times a week for the last few years and, like HMV, is just one of those stores that is utterly fantastic and an absolute pleasure to visit. The staff are genuinely interested in talking to the girls and are happy to chat with them on subjects ranging from toys to college to Embeth's obsession with obscure film and TV characters, plus they know what the girls (and myself!) collect so are always read...

As most of you will know (especially regular readers here) when it comes to Autistic friendly venues for adults there are precious few - and when it comes to places like pubs even less so. In fact only one was listed way back in 2018 and they seem to have forgotten about it now (no mention on their website tho' I'll have a full review if/when they get back in touch) so it's great to find a Glasgow-based pub that's not only genuinely Autistic friendly but also serves THE best Macaroni cheese on the planet. Ladies and gentlemen I give you The Admiral Woods at  29 Waterloo St, Glasgow.     Everything about the place is perfect, from the layout to the staff to the menu, the website is easy to navigate and the constantly updated social media (on X and Instagram ) means that not only do you get to see the food served but you can also plan your visit around any events taking place (plus football etc.) or even to avoid busier times. To be honest it's quite probably my fav...

A brand new addition to the Autism friendly venue/shopping list now (I do like to keep you on your toes) and it's the HMV store in Argyle Street in Glasgow.   Since the girls have been at college we've gotten into the routine of visiting the same few shops on our way to the bus, one of which is the aforementioned store and over the last 18 months we've noticed how friendly and accommodating the staff are. Whenever the girls walk in they're greeted by a 'hello' and always answer Embeth when she says "Hi" to them, no-one bats an eyelid at their DVD cover chat routine as Amelia teases me with a copy of The Last Jedi and at the cash desks the staff are always chatty and attentive, happily talking about each others badges and t-shirts and even joining in with the high fives as they leave. Friendly and helpful, it's a great place that the girls genuinely get excited about visiting. And not just for the cool t-shirts and brilliant Disney and cult TV secti...

First up in my re-review/catch up on Glasgow's Autistic friendly venues is one of our favourites and a place we visit frequently - the fantastic  Riverside Museum   (AKA the Transport Museum).   As mentioned previously , the Riverside has over 3,000 objects on display - there's everything from skateboards to steam trains, paintings to prams and cars to a Star Wars Stormtrooper and often hosts a myriad of (free) transport themed events within the museum grounds including hands on vintage vehicle days and even interactive Star Wars events ( reviewed here ).  And to be fair I've said before that there's not much you can do to realistically  'Autism-up' something like an art gallery or museum but the Riverside (and its staff) have always seemed to be totally onboard when it comes to the needs of Autistic visitors - the layout of the museum has a nice, consistent feel and the map (handed out as you enter) is clear and uncluttered, there's a dedicated q...

Way, way back in the mists of time and when the universe was half its present size I decided (against my better judgement) to start this Autism blog partly because my adopted home town of Glasgow had decided to go all Autism-friendly even going as far as making a map of all the Spectrum-safe places in the city and awarding a rather spiffy Autism Aware badge to venues that are deemed worthy. So seeing as I was bored one afternoon waiting for the girls to finish dance rehearsals I decided to go visit every single one of them (unannounced obviously) and review them all. Yup, tell me you're Autistic without telling me you're Autistic.     Around the same time Glasgow City Council proudly (and somewhat foolishly you might say) decreed that by 2025 - or thereabouts - Glasgow would be 'the most Autistic friendly city in Europe'. So here we are 7 years later and I've decided to revisit and re-review every one of those venues - well the ones that are still open obviously - ...